The invention relates to a method and apparatus for monitoring the Internet. In particular, the present invention relates to a computer program product and method for monitoring Internet traffic on a Web page.
As the number of people accessing the Internet increases, so too does Internet traffic. Internet traffic tends to concentrate on a few popular Web sites or Web pages. The access time associated with retrieving a Web page increases when multiple users simultaneously attempt to access the same Internet Web page. At times, the number of users attempting to access an Internet Web page may be so great that many users will be unable to gain access at all.
One method of responding to a denial of service is simply to repeatedly attempt to log-on to the desired Web page until access is granted. While this method is both simple and effective, it is also time consuming and frequently frustrating. Furthermore, once a user has successfully gained access to a busy Web site or Web page, the user has no way of knowing the level of Internet traffic on the Web page. The level of Internet traffic is on an Internet Web page effects the operating speed and efficiency with which a user can accomplish a task or conduct business on that Web page.
Internet users are accustomed to interacting with the Internet using a graphical user interface (xe2x80x9cGUIxe2x80x9d). A GUI is an interface that uses both text and images to convey information. Using GUIs, a typical Internet user is trained to quickly scan gross information to determine whether to access the more detailed information associated with a Web page, Web site, icon, or message.
The apparatus and method of the present invention allow Internet users to avoid long delays associated with busy Web sites and Web pages by monitoring Internet traffic on a preselected list of Web pages. The method of the present invention begins with user selections of a Web page to be monitored. At a first time, a first ping is automatically sent to the selected Web page""s Internet address. The first ping""s response time is measured to determine the Web page""s level of Internet traffic. This level of Internet traffic is then used to assign a value to a perceptible characteristic of a graphical object, which is then displayed on a display device. At a second time, a second ping is automatically sent to the selected Web page""s Internet address. The response time for the second ping is then measured to determine the Web page""s level of Internet traffic. This second level of Internet traffic is then used to assign a second value to the perceptible characteristic of the graphical object, which is then redisplayed.
The apparatus and method of the present invention allow a user to monitor Internet traffic on Internet Web pages without logging on to the Internet Web page.